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    The legitimacy of collaborative planning : setting water resource limits in Otago and Canterbury, New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Resource and Environment Planning at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2014) Crossman, Julia Margaret
    Water resource management and planning in New Zealand has been a contested issue, typified by polarised positions, fragmented communities and costly court battles. Conventional top-down water planning processes have become characterised by conflicting science and opposing viewpoints. Over recent decades, a new form of planning and decision making has emerged where stakeholders and communities work collaboratively to resolve diverse perspectives and values and achieve communityaccepted policy outcomes. These collaborative processes have gained momentum and become more widespread in recent years, however, so too has the level of scrutiny and the call to evaluate their effectiveness. Given the growing application of collaborative approaches in New Zealand it is timely to consider their legitimacy. This research aims to assess the legitimacy of collaborative planning in the context of setting water resource limits. It develops an assessment framework founded on the principles of input, throughput and output legitimacy and employs a comparative case study approach to examine two regional council limit-setting processes – a conventional council-led approach in Otago, and a collaborative community-driven approach in Selwyn Waihora, Canterbury. Through a participant survey, complimented by a document analysis, the research examines the strengths and weaknesses of these differing approaches against the legitimacy principles and identifies the elements that promote or challenge legitimacy claims. The research results indicate the collaborative Selwyn Waihora limit-setting process was perceived to be more legitimate than the top-down Otago planning approach. The Selwyn Waihora process performed relatively well against input and throughput legitimacy criteria, demonstrating that collaboration enables better local input, more buy-in and greater opportunities for information sharing and deliberation. It facilitates greater understanding of others views and a sense of commitment to involving and engaging the community. It also enhances problem-solving and innovation capability and the likelihood that common ground can be realised. The research does, however, indicate that while the Selwyn Waihora process was also more legitimate in terms of output criteria, the ratings for both the outcome effectiveness and the reflection of community input in the outcome were low given it was promoted as a communitydriven process.
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    Hei whenua papatipu : kaitiakitanga and the politics of enhancing the mauri of wetlands : a thesis presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Maori Studies, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2012) Forster, M. E.
    The intent of this doctoral study is to develop a better understanding of the dynamics and complexities of the contemporary practice of kaitiakitanga. There are two specific foci: Māori relationships with whenua, and; Māori-state resource management relations. Together these foci provide a platform to identify implications for the future development and practice of kaitiakitanga. Two interrelated research questions were developed to explore the contemporary practice of kaitiakitanga: what factors shape kaitiakitanga of wetland ecosystems, and; what are the affects of legislating for culture on the practice of kaitiakitanga? A case study of kaitiakitanga of Whakaki Lake, qualitative interviews with active kaitiaki and an evaluation of state environmental policies and laws were used to address these questions and theorise the dynamics and complexities of contemporary kaitiakitanga. This study begins by arguing that customary relationships between hapū and whenua and the ability of hapū to practice kaitiakitanga have been significantly influenced by the introduction of European notions of land tenure and land use. Although the ancestral landscape has changed considerably since annexation of Aotearoa New Zealand, landscapes generally and waterways specifically remain highly valued and continue to contribute significantly to the spiritual well-being and cultural identity of hapū. Transformation of the ancestral landscape, loss of native biodiversity and environmental degradation, however, continue to threaten customary relationships with whenua and the integrity of indigenous ecosystems. As a consequence, protecting the mauri of natural ecosystems has become a key priority for contemporary kaitiakitanga. Protecting the mauri of natural ecosystems is an extension of social responsibilities that emerge from a customary understanding of the environment based on mauri and whakapapa. Therefore it is argued in this study that mauri tū: restoring the balance of fragmented and degraded ancestral landscapes is an imperative that has emerged from a whakapapa-based understanding of the environment and associated relationships with whenua. In situ real life experiences of active kaitiaki involved in this study confirmed the importance of mauri tū as a tribal imperative and provide exemplars of acts of kaitiaki that enhanced or restored wetlands, lakes, waterways and associated natural resources. This study demonstrates that hapū possess a strong sustainability culture or toitūtanga, to ensure that the ancestral landscape continues to nurture the hapū and remains as a cultural and spiritual base for future generations. Tikanga tiaki or guardianship customs that facilitated environmental protection were used by the participants in this study to realise hapū obligations and responsibilities to wetland ecosystems. This demonstrated that contemporary kaitiakitanga is fluid, adaptive and has evolved into highly organised and strategic activities. New derivations of kaitiakitanga such as ecological enhancement and restoration were able to contribute to improved environmental outcomes for fragmented and highly modified wetland and waterway ecosystems. Exercising kaitiakitanga has become synonymous with participation in the state resource management system. Participation however, has only led to a limited range of opportunities for addressing Māori environmental interests. Therefore, this study argues that engagement with the state currently only provides for a limited expression of tino rangatiratanga and kaitiakitanga. The incorporation of the customary concept of kaitiakitanga into statute has resulted in the co-option of kaitiakitanga as state definitions and provisions for Māori relationships with whenua are inadequate for fully realising Māori environmental interests. Furthermore, the state controls the types of activities that can emerge, and by extension regulates Māori participation in resource management which includes the customary practice of kaitiakitanga. Therefore, by participating in the state resource management system, Māori energies are diverted away from hapū environmental priorities, obligations and responsibilities. Critical issues of ownership and addressing environmental degradation are subsumed by the state agenda. The hapū-based restoration experiences explored in this doctorate indicate that it is possible to contest the limitations that exist within current local authority practice and transform the resource management system to provide for a fuller expression of kaitiakitanga. Engagement with the state, constant political pressure and critical reflection of the integrity of the practice of kaitiakitanga are vital if Māori are to transform existing practice. Change is essential if Māori environmental interests are to receive greater attention and to ensure that local authorities are more responsive to hapū understandings of what it means to be an active kaitiaki. Māori-state contests, therefore, are critical to transform state systems, processes and practices towards greater recognition and provisions for core Māori environmental interests and kaitiakitanga.
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    Integrating policy and science to improve the management of freshwater [i.e. fresh water] in New Zealand : a thesis prepared in partial fulfilment of a Masters Applied Science in Natural Resource Management
    (Massey University, 2011) McArthur, Kathryn Jane
    Water is an important resource that is degraded in many rivers, including some in New Zealand. The environmental improvements resulting from regulation to improve water quality are frequently not monitored, the effectiveness of water quality policies is typically unknown and there are often no clear measures of success built in to policy development. Two studies were selected to examine these issues in relation to regional planning in the Manawatu-Wanganui region of New Zealand. In the first study, two successive plans that used numerical limits to improve water quality were assessed. The successes and failures of the first planning approach were examined and compared with more recent use of limits in the regional plan. Seven steps to developing robust water quality limits were recommended. In the second study, the monitoring of the effectiveness of freshwater policy was considered and a regional approach to plan development which combined science and policy presented. The approach was built on a catchment-based geographic framework of water management zones, water body values and water quality limits. To measure policy success a ranked matrix method was recommended that combined plan objectives and water quality limits. Integrated and collaborative approaches to policy development, setting of water quality limits and policy effectiveness monitoring were key recommendations from both studies and will be increasingly relevant to future water resource management in New Zealand.